How to Address a Letter (Business And Professional)

How to Address a Letter: This is the era of technology and who think about writing a letter; I mean seriously, these letters and telegraphs seem like an old method of communication. Today you all are happy with your instant messaging services and social networking.

But sometimes all you need is a formal letter to anyone as our employees or anyone else and in that situation, you can’t just use your messaging skills but here you need to know the skills that how to address a letter in the right way.

So when it’s about a formal letter then you need to know about the basics on how to address a letter. This is the only way to impress your hiring manager and the white collars. If you start writing by putting a wrong step you clearly lose the chances and no one reads your letter if they are not satisfied with the outings.

To be a master on how to address a letter, you need to first clarify that what is the purpose of the letter? You need to know that whether it is for employment purposes or business purposes, you need to know that an email is necessary or a physical letter.

So I’m here with all the letters writing and emails writing methods, so you will have a clear idea that how to address a letter after reading it out from top to bottom.

How to Address a Letter

Whether you’re writing a formal one or a casual one, it’s necessary to add roper address format before following any other instruction. So follow the proper guideline to mention the address on the envelope.

To get proper knowledge of how to address a letter, you need to consider first to whom you are writing the letter and on which occasion. If you have these two details then writing will get really easy.

Because informal letters are the letters that you are writing to your friend and these allow you to include some informal or casual words.

So you don’t have to be properly formed in you closer relationships. So while writing or your friend you can use “Dear” with the name of your friend such as “Dear John”, you can also use his nickname.

In the same way to write a formal letter, you need to be fully formal. Sometimes you get the chance to invite your boss to your wedding reception and in this situation don’t forget to be formal.

Because your connection with that person is absolutely formal, so address your boss using formal language.

If this is about any business letter then always remember to use four parts as the main task such as: your address, your contact information, the date on which you are sending, the receiver’s address and the greeting, so these are some basic tips on how to address a letter, let’s explore more.

a). How to Address a Letter in Formal: Mr., Dr., Ms., or Mrs.

Let’s get to know how to address a letter suing all three titles.

If you are writing to any male, then the easiest and the standard title is Mr.

if the receiver is a female then you can use Ms. as for the business purposes then using Ms. because Ms. is used for women who are connected to the business field and Mrs. only indicates a married woman.

If you’re writing to a doctor or someone who has a Ph.D. then use the title “Dr.”

Sometimes you don’t know about the gender of that person then you can simply refer the person by his full name which includes a first and last name such as “Dear Robert Pattinson”. So next time when you write a letter, don’t just use names as “Robert Pattinson” instead, write “Mr. Robert Pattinson”.

If you are addressing a married couple then you should write in this way: “Mr. and Mrs. Robert Pattinson”, so you don’t need to include the female name.

If you’re addressing a couple but they are unmarried then you can address them like this: “Mr. Robert Pattinson and Ms. Kristen Stewart”.

If you are about to write for a whole family then you just have to address the like this: “The Pattinsons”. Just use “The” and last name.

b). How to Address a Letter When You Don’t Have a Contact Person

So this method is about how to address a letter when you don’t know the name of the person or the receiver. Here are several types of greeting or salutations that you can use in order to be formal and clear.

Greeting to use:

To Whom It May Concern

Dear Hiring Manager

Dear Human Resources Manager

Dear Sir or Madam

So, now you know how to address a letter without knowing a person’s name.

d). Go Deep With Addressing the Envelope Properly

It’s good if you get deep knowledge on addressing a letter in a proper manner, so below are the tips on how to address a letter.

1). Writing the Return Address

Labeling is very important part if you want a correct delivery of the letter. If you mishandle it ten the letter can be refused to deliver or can be delivered to someone else.

So first position your envelope on a flat surface, so you won’t face any difficulty while writing those words. You should position the envelope from left to right and not from top to bottom because left to right is the correct way to writing.

Put your title first as Mr., Miss, Ms. or Mrs. whichever suits you and now your name. Now write the return address on the top-right corner. The return address is necessary if the letter is undelivered then it gets to the return address.

Remember to write your full address, so in the first line is your name with the title. The second line is your address with the house name or number, street name, city, State and then zip code with your contact number on it.

This completes your doubts on how to address a letter when it’s the return address.

2). Writing the Mailing Address

Now it’s time to write the receiver’s address to clear your thoughts on how to address a letter including the mailing address. Put the suitable tile with the name in the first line.

In the first line there will be name, I the second line, put the address in the same format as you do for the return address.

You need to write this receiver’s’ address in the center of the envelope. You can also indicate the resignation instead if the title before the name like “c/o”, “Dr.” etc. if you’re sending it for business purpose.

In the international mails you are also required to mention the Country with the complete receiver’s address which includes the home number, street or avenue address with City, State, Zip Code and the contact info if the receiver.

When you write the contact info if the receiver, it helps the courier companies to get the destination fast and make the delivery reliable in the case where the delivery man is unable to find the address.

Adding a postage stamp is a mandatory step before setting your letter for delivery. Choose a proper postage stamp as this works as a fair of your letter’s delivery and if you don’t use a correct stamp your letter my face delivery issues. So get the postage stamp and add it on the top-right side of the envelope.

Now, I think after reading out all these tips n tricks on how to address a letter, you will be able to address your letter in a stunning way and in a customized style.

e). Sending Email Cover Letters

Now it’s time to understand about how to address a letter in the electronic form. When it comes to writing an email, you think it is an easy task that even a kid can do. But when it comes to write a formal one, it’s not that easy.

Even if it’s an email doesn’t mean that it valued any less, it also needs to cover all the details and the instruction as said by the employer. Also adding any file as your resume is mandatory in a proper format as instructed by the company.

So writing a cover letter is always necessary if you really want to impress those corporate people through just an email.

Here is a step-by-step guide to send a cover letter properly-

Sometimes the job posting says to attach the cover letter and the resume with the email you’re sending. In this, you need to attach both to fulfill the instruction and to make your HR read your email.

Always keep your files in Microsoft Word or PDF format as these are the preferred professional formats. Save both file separately and don’t forget to name then separately, so the HR department won’t get confused between your resume and cover letter.

In some companies, employers don’t want any attachment or cover letters. If this is your situation then you can paste the whole resume material in your email next to the subject line that is the body section.

Don’t ever try to use a fancy formatting in any of your documents. Just keep everything simple and precise, because sometimes formatted messages are not easy to see if the employer is using a different email viewer.

When you are attaching your email cover letter, don’t forget to add the subject line in your email and that should be proper. It should specify the position what you’re applying for with your name such as Robert Pattinson, Web Designer position.

When you include your details as your name, your contact info, address then don’t forget to add your Signature there.

After it seems complete, remember to double check or cross check your written data and all the details to make sure that are 100 % correct.

Check the entered data in a spelling and grammar checker to be sure that there is not any single mistake left.

After that as the last step, send a copy of this to yourself first so that you can view the formatting and all the details and if anything is not miswritten there then you can correct it. After that, you can make the final send to your employer.

Conclusion:

Through a proper addressing, you can make your impression last longer. Writing a letter is not just the way of communication but it represents your connection quit that particular person. So whether you are writing for a formal party or casual celebration use the tips that I’ve described here on how to address a letter.

After reading out the methods and titles while writing a formal and a casual letter, you would get clear idea that how to address a letter. So write in both forms formally and casually on different occasions and make your impression.